The Smooth Criminal's Patented Shoes

Michael Jackson and his dancers were able to lean forward beyond their centers of gravity (CG in the drawing below) during live performances of "Smooth Criminal" thanks to specially designed shoes patented by the King of Pop:

U.S. Patent Number 5,255,452, filed by Michael Jackson in 1993, explains that “in the past, a professional entertainer, one of the inventors herein, has incorporated dance steps in his recorded video performances, wherein he and other dancers would lean forward beyond their center of gravity, thereby creating an impressive visual effect. This effect was accomplished by the use of cables connecting a harness around the dancer’s waist with hooks onstage.… However, since this requires stagehands to connect and then disconnect the cables, it has not been possible to use this system in live performances.” The shoes solve this problem by allowing the performer, “by engaging the shoes onto an upstanding post positioned to project upwardly from a stage at a predetermined time, to lean forwardly or put his or her center of gravity beyond the front or rear of his shoes, thereby creating the desired gravity defying interesting effect.”

In a description of similar existing patents, Michael Jackson’s patent mentions footwear worn by astronauts which can be locked onto a rail to aid them in working in a zero-gravity environment.

I would provide a link to a youtube video showing the shoes in action, but my ability to do so without committing copyright infringement is an unsettled question.

(via Boing Boing Gadgets)